5-7 July: After buying a new spare tire for the car to replace a flat we got on Obstruction Point road, we left the Olympic peninsula and headed to the North Cascades, where we would spend the next couple of days hiking on national park, national forest, and state park trails. The Thunder Knob trail (North Cascades National Park) was a pleasant hike up to a ridgetop view of Diablo Lake and surrounding snow-covered mountain peaks. The Sauk Mountain trail (Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest) started up near treeline in wildflower-studded meadows and the view from the summit was very rewarding for a fairly easy hike. We had done this hike about seven years ago on a cloudy day without any distant views, so the hike was well worth repeating. Short interpretive trails in Rasar State Park (where we were camped) and nearby Rockport State Park were very attractive in addition to being informative, winding through old growth forests and beside the Skagit River.
